Carburetor rebuild
Ignition system rebuild
Faulty fuel pump
Faulty speedometer and tachometer cables
Faulty exhaust system
Ignition wiring fire
Leaky heater valve
Corroded battery box and battery cables
Faulty voltage regulator
Worn seats, carpet, convertible top, and weather stripping.
It's an old Spitfire, so naturally there are things that are wrong with it. There are still intermittent running problems that occur, but the rebuild of the Stromberg CD150 carburetor and the entire ignition system has gone a long way towards making the vehicle much more reliable. I trust it to get me to work a few days a week, but wouldn't want to drive it more than 50 miles from my house.
All faulty items listed are wearable items that need to be replaced in time... No fault of the parts, just past their time.
Just one thing... what's it cost? If I have to ask I can't afford it, right?
You must be kidding... an old Spitfire is about the cheapest way to experience vintage British sports car (TR-7's don't count)
It was 1972 and I was poor 22 year old college kid. I was driving a 1964 Pontiac Le Mans with high miles and a leaky automatic transmission that required me to carry a case of transmission fluid and a funnel in the trunk (boot) just to get me back in forth to college (60 miles round trip). That summer, I spotted a red 1969 Triumph Spitfire MKIII in the local car dealership. I fell in love with the looks of it and it was an affordable sports car ($800 US) for a young college kid with very little income. What great fun I had with that car. No, it wasn't all that reliable. Over the years I had to replaced the U joints in both the drive shaft and axls, rebuild the rear brake slave cylinders, replace the generator, repair the shift linkage, etc. I did all this work by my self (couldn't afford to have it done professionally) and I credit that little Spitfire for teaching me a little about car repair. Although there were buggers in most of the mechanics of that car, I never had any problems with the engine, it ran great. I drove that little sports car all over the United States (coast to coast) for eight years and many, many miles. This was my only form of transportation and I drove it winter, spring, summer and fall. I can now afford to drive BMWs, but you know, that little Spitfire had more heart and character than any other car I have owned before or since. I am glad to see other young people enjoying this little gem.
I had a 1968 Spitfire back in the late seventies and loved it.
It drove like a street legal go-cart and returned excellent gas mileage. These cars have a legendary tight turning circle, and the steering was light as a feather. It was more fun to drive than my '66 MGB.
The routine maintenance was easy because of the excellent access to the engine when the bonnet was opened. The only other car like that was the Jaguar XKE. In fact we used to call the Spitfire GT-6 the "Baby Jag".
I bought a 1970 spitfire brand new. It was a great little car.
Drove it every where. One year I put the top down and the tonneau cover on in early March, and didn't put the top back up until mid November. This was in Ohio, so it got a little chilly.
About 1987 I ran out of gas on my way to work at 2:00 am in the morning. Parked up on the side walk and walked the rest of the way to work. At 4:00 am the police called and said it was in the middle of the road upside down. Some losers thought it was funny to flip it and beat the crap out of it.
I would have kicked the crap out of them if I could have caught them. Loved that car.
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